US to pay Taliban to switch sides

How is this any different than the CIA paying Afghan officials to help our side? The NY Times might want to answer this question.

in reference to:

"The US military in Afghanistan is to be allowed to pay Taliban fighters who renounce violence against the government in Kabul.The move is included in a defence bill which President Obama is set to sign. Such payments have already been widely used by US commanders in Iraq, but it is the first time the system is being formally adopted in Afghanistan."
- BBC NEWS | South Asia | US to pay Taliban to switch sides (view on Google Sidewiki)

"A Drop in the Wrong Bucket"

More government buying votes with our money. And then sticking us with the bill.

in reference to:

"If you wanted to help the economy and you had $14 billion to bestow on any group of people, which group would you choose:

a) Teenagers and young adults, who have an 18 percent unemployment rate.b) All the middle-age long-term jobless who, for various reasons, are not eligible for unemployment benefits.c) The taxpayers of the future (by using the $14 billion to pay down the deficit).d) The group that has survived the Great Recession probably better than any other, with stronger income growth, fewer job cuts and little loss of health insurance. The Obama administration has chosen option d — people in their 60s and beyond. The president has proposed sending a $250 check to every Social Security recipient, which sounds pretty good at first. The checks would be part of his admirable efforts to stimulate the economy, and older Americans are clearly a sympathetic group. Next year, they are scheduled to receive no cost-of-living increase in their Social Security benefits.Yet that is largely because they received an artificially high 5.8 percent increase this year. For this reason and others, economists are generally recoiling at the proposal.President Obama’s own economic advisers raised objections, as my colleague Jackie Calmes has reported. Isabel Sawhill of the Brookings Institution told me she thought the idea was crazy — and then noted she was in her 70s. Rosanne Altshuler, co-director of the Tax Policy Center in Washington, says that the checks “seem to be pure pandering to seniors.” Indeed, the politics are attractive. People over 65 vote in large numbers. Saying no to them is never easy."
- Economic Scene - $250 Checks for Social Security Recipients Overlook Reality - NYTimes.com (view on Google Sidewiki)

Report: Afghan President's Brother Is on CIA Payroll

This is an unpatriotic act by the NY Times. The only people who will benefit from this information coming out, is the Taliban. Why is it necessary for the world to know that CIA has some Afghan officials on the payroll? Doesn't this endanger the lives of Afghans cooperating with the CIA. What's wrong with the CIA having foreign government officials working for them. Isn't that part of the intelligence gathering process? Didn't we have Soviet citizens working for the CIA during the cold war? We are at war in Afghanistan. This report by the Times is a betrayal our country.

in reference to:

"The brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who faces a runoff election next week, is on the payroll of the CIA, the
New York Times reports, citing unnamed current and former American officials.The Times reports that Ahmed Wali Karzai
has provided a variety of services for the CIA for the past eight years, including finding recruits for Afghan paramilitary
forces that operate under the direction of the CIA.A CIA spokesman wouldn't confirm the allegations for the Times'
story.Such a relationship between Karzai's brother and the CIA could be a problem for the already complicated relationship
between the United States and Afghanistan's sitting president -- particularly as Karzai fights off the perception among some
in his country that he is a puppet of the Americans, as well as allegations that he is benefiting from the country's opium
trade."If we are going to conduct a population-centric strategy in Afghanistan, and we are perceived as backing thugs,
then we are just undermining ourselves," Maj. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, the senior American military intelligence official in
Afghanistan told the Times."
- Report: Afghan President's Brother Is on CIA Payroll - Political News - FOXNews.com (view on Google Sidewiki)

Long Lines, Low Supplies Plague Swine Flu Vaccine

Are we seeing the government butcher another crisis...or create one? At the very least they are making it worse. We'll have to wait and see how bad it's going to get, if at all.

in reference to:

"A crowd of anxious and patient people began lining up at 9 a.m. today in Chicago outside a school gymnasium. It started small, but soon grew into a group of hundreds all waiting for one thing -- the H1N1 vaccine.

For six long hours they packed the hallways, spilling over into the gym. The vaccinations weren't scheduled to begin until 3 p.m.

Jennifer Viverito has been hunting for the H1N1 vaccine for herself and her 2-year-old son."
- Swine Flu Vaccine Lines Last for Hours - ABC News (view on Google Sidewiki)

Afghanistan haunted by ghost of Vietnam

The lessons have not been learned. And Obama is repeating the same mistake.

in reference to:

"While President Obama's war council deliberates its strategy toward Afghanistan, the ghost of Vietnam is often invoked as a warning. Afghanistan, U.S. and coalition forces have been fighting in Afghanistan for eight years and until recently the war had been overshadowed by the one in Iraq. In March, Afghanistan will become America's longest war, surpassing the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War, which cost 58,000 American lives, is the one most often invoked when U.S. troops are committed overseas."
- Afghanistan haunted by ghost of Vietnam - CNN.com (view on Google Sidewiki)

Amnesty: Israel withholds water from Palestinians

How does this solve the problem? How do bring about peace, which is what we need in that region. All this does is create more hatred. Thus more violence. And you won't hear much criticism from the politicians and press in the States. It should be our business because the U.S. is blamed every time the Israelis engage in this type of behavior.

in reference to:

"Amnesty International is accusing Israel of pumping disproportionate amounts of drinking water from an aquifer it controls in the West Bank, depriving local Palestinians of their fair share. The London-based human rights group also said in a report released Tuesday, that Israel has blocked infrastructure projects that would improve existing water supplies to Palestinians—both in the West Bank and those living in the Gaza Strip."
- Amnesty: Israel withholds water from Palestinians (view on Google Sidewiki)

GOP turns to self-funding candidates

That's what we need, more wealthy people in Congress.

in reference to:

"House Republicans are increasingly turning to wealthy candidates able to finance their own campaigns — a plan that has both risks and rewards. It could pay dividends: The less time a candidate has to spend on the phone asking for money, the more time he or she can spend asking for votes, attending events and bolstering visibility."
- GOP turns to self-funding candidates - TheHill.com (view on Google Sidewiki)

Recession's End Won't Stop Job Loss Pain

Maybe more of that bailout money should have been used to stimulate job creation.

in reference to:

"It's about to become official: The recession is over - but not the pain.

The government will release figures this week expected to show that the economy has awakened from its deepest slump since the 1930s and is in the early stages of a recovery. But the following week, the government will issue another set of figures expected to show unemployment continuing to rise toward and possibly above a clearly recessionary 10 percent."
- Recession's End Won't Stop Job Loss Pain - CBS News (view on Google Sidewiki)

Report: FBI not reviewing all of its evidence

Not very reassuring.

in reference to:

"An inspector general has found the FBI is still not reviewing reams of evidence collected in counterterrorism cases, and still needs more translators. Glenn Fine, the Justice Department's inspector general, issued a report Monday finding flaws in the FBI's translation and evidence review efforts. The bureau says the inspector general overstates the problem by double-counting recordings. The inspector general says since 2003, the FBI has not reviewed about 47,000 hours of audio files in counterterrorism cases—the equivalent of a single recording running for five and a half years straight. The bureau says the real backlog is only about a tenth of that, or 4,770 hours. The report says there are more than a million hours of audio still needing review in counterintelligence cases."
- Report: FBI not reviewing all of its evidence (view on Google Sidewiki)

Massacre, rapes at rally in Guinea premeditated

And whose to stop it? Where is the outrage? Who will be punished? What will be done? No answer coming.

in reference to:

"A U.S.-based human rights group says the Sept. 28 massacre by Guinean troops of at least 150 people and the rapes of dozens of women at a pro-democracy rally in Guinea were premeditated — and that rapes of kidnapped women continued for days."
- Newsvine - Massacre, rapes at rally in Guinea premeditated (view on Google Sidewiki)

Experts: Tigers fast dying out despite campaigns

Are we headed the same way? There is no indication that Humans are doing a good job in protecting the environment. This can only spell doom for this planet.

in reference to:

"The world's tiger population is declining fast despite efforts to save them, and new strategies are urgently needed to keep the species from dying out, international wildlife experts said Tuesday.
"We are assembled here to save tigers that are at the verge of extinction," Nepal's secretary of forest and soil conservation, Yuvaraj Bhusal, told a conference of tiger experts from 20 countries, including the 13 where wild tigers are still found.
An estimated 3,500 to 4,000 tigers now roam the world's forests, down from the more than 100,000 estimated at the beginning of the 20th century. All the remaining tigers are in Asia."
- Experts: Tigers fast dying out despite campaigns - Yahoo! News (view on Google Sidewiki)

Statisticians Reject Global Cooling Idea

The naysayers keep trying to disprove global warming. It's like saying the Earth doesn't circle the Sun. They have to play with the numbers to prove their point.

in reference to:

"In a blind test, the AP gave temperature data to four independent statisticians and asked them to look for trends, without telling them what the numbers represented. The experts found no true temperature declines over time.
"If you look at the data and sort of cherry-pick a micro-trend within a bigger trend, that technique is particularly suspect," said John Grego, a professor of statistics at the University of South Carolina.
Yet the idea that things are cooling has been repeated in opinion columns, a BBC news story posted on the Drudge Report and in a new book by the authors of the best-seller "Freakonomics." Last week, a poll by the Pew Research Center found that only 57 percent of Americans now believe there is strong scientific evidence for global warming, down from 77 percent in 2006.
Global warming skeptics base their claims on an unusually hot year in 1998. Since then, they say, temperatures have dropped — thus, a cooling trend. But it's not that simple.
Since 1998, temperatures have dipped, soared, fallen again and are now rising once more. Records kept by the British meteorological office and satellite data used by climate skeptics still show 1998 as the hottest year. However, data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA show 2005 has topped 1998. Published peer-reviewed scientific research generally cites temperatures measured by ground sensors, which are from NOAA, NASA and the British, more than the satellite data.
The recent Internet chatter about cooling led NOAA's climate data center to re-examine its temperature data. It found no cooling trend."
- Statisticians Reject Global Cooling Idea (view on Google Sidewiki)

Missing Children and The Technology That May Find Them

Some solutions for protecting your kids. [This post is not an endorsement of any particular company or technology.]

in reference to:

"The VeriChip Company makes VeriKid, used in Mexico where they put scanners in public places kidnapped children may be. VeriChip was primarily developed to hold a patient’s medical information and it does not contain a transmitter and is not satellite-enabled.
Wherify GPS Personal Locator combines GPS and digital wireless technologies to pinpoint a wearers position within a few feet. Parents can view satellite or street map or call an 800 number. Cost is $800 and $30 a month to monitor. Parents lock the bracelet onto the child’s wrist, which could be removed by a perpetrator."
- Missing Children and The Technology That May Find Them | InjuryBoard Jacksonville (view on Google Sidewiki)

UN Food Agency Says 200 Million More People Hungry

With not much hope in site. The collapse of the global economic system has, and will, leave many casualties. It did very little to solve world hunger when international capitalism was "thriving" over the last 2 decades. So you can imagine what will happen now.

in reference to:

"Most of the developing world is paying more for food despite drops in commodity market prices during the global economic slowdown, with 200 million people joining the ranks of the hungry in the past two years, the U.N. World Food Program said Monday.

The agency's executive director Josette Sheeran blamed climate change, escalating fuel costs and falling incomes. She said the number of "urgently hungry" had now reached its highest ever — 1.02 billion.

"One out of six people in humanity will wake up not sure that they can even fill a cup of food," Sheeran told reporters. "We have to make no mistake that hunger is on the march.""
- UN Food Agency Says 200 Million More People Hungry - ABC News (view on Google Sidewiki)

Report: Meteorite-like object falls in Latvia

It isn't just in the movies. Meteors are a reality. And there exists a potential for a massive one to hit the earth and kill many people. Meteors are believed to have killed off the dinosaurs.

in reference to:

"A meteorite-like object has created a crater after landing near a farm in northern Latvia, the nation's official news agency reported. The object fell Sunday in Mazsalaca, leaving a hole of about 65 feet (20 meters) wide and 32 feet (10 meters) deep, Latvian emergency officials told the LETA news agency."
- Report: Meteorite-like object falls in Latvia - CNN.com (view on Google Sidewiki)

Saudi king scraps flogging for woman journalist

It gives you hope and teaches a lesson. If pressure is put on dictatorships positive things can happen. And it looks like it was not governments that led to the decision to stop the beatings. World public opinion does matter, and should.

in reference to:

"The Saudi king has waived a 60 lashes punishment for a female journalist charged with involvement in a TV show in which a Saudi man publicly talked about sex, a government official said Monday.
King Abdullah's decision followed intense media attention sparked by Saturday's sentencing of journalist Rozanna al-Yami, who was ordered flogged by a judge in the western city of Jiddah.
Al-Yami had been charged with involvement in the preparation of a sex talk show and advertising the segment on the Internet."
- Saudi king scraps flogging for woman journalist - Yahoo! News (view on Google Sidewiki)

'60 Minutes' Transcript: Medicare Fraud: A $60 Billion Crime

Medicare is no model for health care reform as some Democrats are arguing. That's why real reform would mean replacing it with something that does work. Neither party will do that. The Medicare program is too popular, even if we can't pay for it.

President Obama says rising costs are driving huge federal budget deficits that imperil our future, and that there is enough waste and fraud in the system to pay for health care reform if it was eliminated.

At the center of both issues is Medicare, the government insurance program that provides health care to 46 million elderly and disabled Americans. But it also provides a rich and steady income stream for criminals who are constantly finding new ways to steal a sizable chunk of the half trillion dollars that are paid out each year in Medicare benefits.

In fact, Medicare fraud - estimated now to total about $60 billion a year - has become one of, if not the most profitable, crimes in America.

This story may raise your blood pressure, along with some troubling questions about our government's ability to manage a medical bureaucracy.

'FOX News Sunday' Transcript (10-25-09): Abdullah Abdullah

Read the complete transcript. Excerpt below:

Earlier we spoke with one of the two candidates in the Afghan presidential runoff, challenger and former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALLACE: Dr. Abdullah, there have been reports that in order to avoid a runoff with the possibility of more violence and more fraud that you and President Karzai might agree to share power, to a coalition government.

Is that a possibility? Or have you ruled that out?

ABDULLAH: No, I think I should rule it out, because I am ready to go for a runoff. I -- and what I am focusing at this stage -- to -- to provide the relevant institutions which sets off recommendations and sometimes conditions to ensure the transparency of the Afghani elections.

WALLACE: Let's turn to the runoff, which is scheduled for November 7th. There was rampant fraud in Afghanistan. Your supporters now say that unless there are changes in the election commission, which is run by Karzai supporters, that you may, in fact, boycott the runoff.

Is that a real possibility, sir?

ABDULLAH: So I'm not talking about boycott at this stage, though my supporters are pressing on that point, that if the state machinery a fraud, as well as election commission, which was unfortunately involved in fraud -- both are in place, and then both are working in collaboration with one another, perhaps we might have to go through the same sort of saga.

And that -- I am under a lot of pressure. But at the same time, I'm working with the international community on sets of conditions which have to be met. These are not conditions in favor of one candidate against another.

WALLACE: And if those conditions are not met, will you go ahead with the runoff?

ABDULLAH: No, I think some of -- some of the things which we will be putting forward are very serious issues. Without it, without considering it, we will not have a transparent, credible process, and it will be very difficult to convince the people to turn out and to show up, because the people are taking risk. And they are taking risk in the first round elections.

So it will -- it will make the situation very difficult if those conditions and recommendations are not met.

WALLACE: So does that mean that a boycott by you of the runoff, if there are no reforms, if there are no changes, is a possibility?

ABDULLAH: I don't want to give a message to our people so that momentum for campaign will be lost. So by that, that shows my commitment to the process.

But at the same time, I would say that it will be a very serious situation if we are up against the same sorts of conditions that we went through in the first round elections.

WALLACE: Dr. Abdullah, even with so many of President Karzai's votes thrown out, he still led you 49 percent to 32 percent. With him so close to a majority, do you really have any chance to win?

ABDULLAH: I'm sure that with the -- with the fate of the people (inaudible) on the process, there will be higher turnout and the people do want change in this country.

The reason that there was lesser turnout, apart from -- from the security situations -- it was also because of lack of faith on the process.

WALLACE: If Karzai wins, can he be a credible partner for the U.S. going forward?

ABDULLAH: I think there is a -- there is a record -- there is a record in the past few years. I think so far one of the problems for the United States and the international community has been the fact that the Afghan side has not been able to deliver, and the Afghan side has been led by Mr. Karzai in the past few years.

WALLACE: There is a big controversy here in the U.S., Dr. Abdullah, about when President Obama should announce the result of his policy review on strategy and troop levels.

Would you like to see him announce his decision as soon as possible? Or would you like to see him perhaps delay till after the election because whatever the U.S. decides could be disruptive to the campaign?

ABDULLAH: There is a need for more troops. There is no doubt about it. There are need in Afghanistan. And that's based on military analysis and especially by General McChrystal.

At the same time, when is the best time? Of course, even if the decision is made today doesn't mean tomorrow we will have troops -- boots on the ground. It will take time.

WALLACE: If President Obama decides to scale back on U.S. strategy and the number of troops that he sends, what is the danger that the Taliban will overrun the country?

ABDULLAH: The need for more troops is there in order to reverse the situation. If the situation is not reversed from deteriorating further the security situation, so the future of this country will be at risk, and the future of the engagement of the international community will be at risk.

So this situation requires a sort of dramatic increase in the number of troops in order to stop -- stop it from further deteriorating and reversing it. The permanent solution is in a road map that Afghanistan stands on its own feet in a few years down the road, troops -- number of troops could be decreased in Afghanistan, finally, and eventually will stand on its own feet. WALLACE: You talk about a few years down the road, which brings me to my final question, Dr. Abdullah. If the president commits to a full-scale counterinsurgency, how many more years will U.S. troops have to stay in Afghanistan?

ABDULLAH: I think this is -- this is very difficult to give a sort of time table for anybody, I think. But as long as you can see through a clear strategy that the situation in Afghanistan will be stabilized, as long as you can see that in that strategy, you know, with a sort of realistic analysis, so the issue of one or two more years, more or less, will not be the main matter.

Pediatricians Fault Media Violence and Sex

I've been making this argument for years. The have many studies that show the correlation between media and societal violence. This is only the latest. Unfortunately, this report will be ignored like all the rest. The usual platitudes about parents being responsible for keeping kids away from the TV. We are all responsible, including the amoral entertainment industry.

in reference to:

"Violence and sex in music, movies, television and video games pose such a serious threat to children and teenagers that the nation's chief organization of pediatricians wants doctors to do something about it.

A new study shows link between infants watching TV and language development.
"The evidence is now clear and convincing: media violence is one of the causal factors of real-life violence and aggression," the American Academy of Pediatrics' council on communications and the media concluded in one of two statements published in the November issue of Pediatrics."
- Media Violence, Sex Threaten Kids, Pediatricians Say - ABC News (view on Google Sidewiki)

15-Year-Old Charged With Murder of Mo. Girl

Killers are getting younger all the time. That is a product of a violent culture and easy availability of guns.

in reference to:

"Juvenile authorities said Saturday that a 15-year-old has been charged with first-degree murder for the death of a 9-year-old central Missouri girl found in the woods two days after she went missing.

Police did not release the teen's gender or name and provided few other details about the person suspected of killing Elizabeth Olten. Cole County Sheriff Greg White has said the teenage suspect is not related to Elizabeth but was acquainted with her and is from the same area just west of Jefferson City."
- 15-Year-Old Charged With Murder of Mo. Girl - ABC News (view on Google Sidewiki)